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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Campfire Cooking - The Perfect Marshmallow

By Rich Henderson

My wife and I have a running joke in our kitchen at home about the best
way to cook a chicken. Just boil it…
whole! Well OK I have to admit that is the direction I take anyway. I have to
admit though, baked, barbecued or fried DOES taste better, but hey, it’s still
cooked right? Doing all that prep and taking all that time to cook it those
other ways is just too difficult, right? Of course not!

The Asteroid

The Barely Warm

Then why do people assume that a
marshmallow properly toasted over a
camp fire can be done quickly. It takes time to toast a marshmallow. One of my
boys makes asteroids (think fire and brimstone here). Yuck! The other son
places them directly over the fire just long enough to warm them up and maybe get a little color
before they catch fire (sometimes he mis-calculates). Well OK now we’re getting
somewhere though. My wife generally just detests the things. That is until I have
cooked mine and then she declares that she’d like one too. Of course dear.

A properly toasted marshmallow should not stick to your hands when removed from the fork. It should have
a crust that would match your grandmas best lemon meringue pie top. And when
you bite into it, you should literally be able to pour that sweet nectar out of
it (almost… something had to keep it on the fork). I am proud to say that while my chicken might
not be the best, my marshmallows made in the campfire ARE! Here’s how to do it.

The trick is to look for the reddest, hottest coals around the edge of
the fire. Skewer the marshmallow however you prefer, through the side or length
wise. Now just keep it moving. The real trick is to just let the thing soften
and puff up before you brown it. Hold
it slightly back from the coals for this. If the end toward the coals starts to
smoke, you’re too close. You need to turn the fork 90 degrees to the fire, or
put it ¼ of the way around the fire pit so the side of the marshmallow gets
more heat than the end. Be patient. This takes time. I don’t carry a watch, so
I’ll guess 5 minutes. Besides these things are so sweet, you need to allow time
in-between each of them.

Once they have puffed up, ease them closer in to those hot coals. You
know it's right when they just start to wisp a little smoke. Be careful now, it’s easy to
torch one if you’re not. In mere seconds you can achieve that perfect crust. I
find that they are cooked perfect when the fork starts to spin inside and
independent of the marshmallow. Remove it from the fire and prepare to defend
it from the kids while it cools down a touch. Now sit back and enjoy Gods gift
to campers. It’s a whole lot better than a boiled chicken!